Shocking warning from GPs about diseases of poverty in Scotland should shame the SNP
A survey of GPs found 55 per cent reported seeing rising numbers of patients with diseases and conditions linked to or worsened by poverty
The link between the economy and health is sometimes overlooked. However, having fewer people in the workforce – whether for health or any other reasons – almost inevitably means a smaller economy. And hard times generally hit the poorest hardest, leading to rising rates of poverty-related diseases and fewer people able to work.
The return of rickets, a disease associated with Victorian slums, to Scotland in significant numbers in 2023 was a deeply worrying sign of just how badly poverty is affecting the health of the nation.
Furthermore, the fact that, since 2014-2016, women have lost almost four years of healthy life expectancy and men have lost three years demonstrates just how systemic the problem has become.
Premature deaths
Now the Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland has revealed that 55 per cent of respondents to its annual survey reported seeing rising numbers of patients with diseases and conditions linked to or worsened by poverty.
Dr Chris Provan, the college’s chair, said: “In my daily practice, I see first-hand how poverty affects health – patients develop chronic conditions earlier, struggle to afford nutritious food or heat their homes, and all too often die prematurely... Declining healthy life expectancy not only leads to poorer health outcomes but also creates wider economic and social consequences as people can no longer work and become increasingly isolated due to deteriorating health.”
So the atrocious state of the NHS, with its unacceptably long waiting lists, is not just a tragedy for patients – particularly for those who die because of the lack of treatment – but the nation as a whole. And the SNP’s failure to find an effective way to kickstart Scotland’s lacklustre economy is a serious health issue that is blighting the lives of far too many.
The nationalists’ main response to poverty has been to increase benefit payments. However, this is a policy that only mitigates the damage being caused and its affordability is increasingly being called into question.
The only way to fundamentally tackle the problem is by increasing economic growth. And ensuring the workforce is fighting fit is an essential part of any serious strategy to ensure our current vicious downward spiral changes direction.
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